Dura Ace: Weighs less. Costs more.

Dura Ace: weighs a little less, costs much more.

the way it was described to me....

dura ace is good for 1.5 times the lifespan. if you are assembling a 10,000 + miles bike, pay for the dura ace. otherwise, i have ridden both, and i certainly can't tell the difference. if i recall, i was told to expect 10k out of ultegra, and 15k out of d.a.

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It's not easy to juggle a pregnant wife and a troubled child, but somehow I managed to squeeze in 8 hours of TV a day - Homer Simpson

In terms of performance, most people cannot tell the difference except in the STI shifting mechanisms. That's not to say Ultegra is not good. It just has a different feel to it. I believe it has a slightly longer throw, but I'm a bit fuzzy on that. Both drivetrains are completely reliable. Braking is solid. Bottom line, are you going to lose a race because you chose Ultegra? HECK NO. In fact, as a $$ challenged college age athlete, Ultegra is a smart choice. Spend the extra $$ putting a better wheelset on the bike. As for durability, I got 6 years and 50,000+ miles out of Ultegra 8 speed, changing only the chain, cogset, pulley wheels, chainrings, bottom bracket and brakepads (all wear items). I changed out the right STI shifter when I sold it 1 1/2 years ago and the guy who bought it is still going strong. 9 Speed Ultegra is even better. Dura Ace is nice, and I have it on my tri-bike. But I'm not suddenly winning more races because I put it on there. One thing about DA is that its wear items wear slightly faster than ultegra, especially the titanium cogs. And you'd do well to stick with the Ultegra BB no matter which way you go, unless you have access to a free mechanic for frequent adjustments.

If you HAVE to buy Shimano, buy Dura-Ace. If you CAN buy Campagnolo, go from Centaur up, depending on your budget.

Paulo

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"Yeah, no one likes a smartass, but we all like stars" - Thom Yorke


smartasscoach.tri-oeiras.com

the biggest difference is in the shifters... the shifters have a much crisper nicer feel...

other than that, weight mostly

I have both and other than the pretiness of DA I can't tell the difference in performance.

I may have a chance to get what you recommended (orbea) with the cenetaur group on it. The bike would be the liege with full cenetaur components. I think from what i've been told is that it would be for me to ride for the season and i hopefully wouldn't have the pay anything for it. I was just wondering since you know a bit on the subject what you thought of this bike, or if i should throw in a few dollars and get something like the team euskatel bike? thanks for the help!
p.s. any help would be great from anyone

I just went to their site and the Liege package looks like a good choice. One of my athletes rides the same frame with a Chorus/Record mix and I just love the bike. I myself ride Centaur components. I don't think the upgrade to the Team Euskatel would be worth it, especially if you can get the Liege for free.

Paulo

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"Yeah, no one likes a smartass, but we all like stars" - Thom Yorke


smartasscoach.tri-oeiras.com